Addiction
by rosalinafanforever
Summary: The Teen Titans are a band of rebels battling Slade Wilson's dictatorship and his enforcers, the H.I.V.E. The Titans, however, abuse the power-amplifying drug called the Demon to win their battles. The Demon causes dissociative identity disorder, and Titan leader Raven's DID will set in in a year. The Titans battle both Slade and their own drug addiction. -BBRae, RobStar, Flinx-
1. define:addiction

**Jump City: April 18th, 2058- 19:24**

The shrill whine of a siren pierced the frosty evening air. Hanging over the dingy alley, a battered streetlight cast ominous, flickering shadows over heaps of trash and puddles of stagnant sewage.

 _Splash!_

The eerie serenity of the scene shattered as footsteps echoed through the alleyway. A group of hooded figures pounded through the alleyway. Suddenly, their leader skidded to a stop. Her chest rose and fell as her heavy breathing filled the air with little evanescent clouds. Raising her gloved fist, she slammed it against the wall.

"Do it."

Her three companions reeled backwards in shock, voices rising in protest.

Robin muttered, "But you said-"

"Remember what Dr. Bruce said? That pill's bad for the health, friend Raven," whimpered another.

Violet eyes glinted in the sickly yellow light as the leader yanked off her hood. "We have no choice."

Grimacing, they reached into their cloaks. Each hand emerged clutching a tiny purple pill. Simultaneously, they swallowed the drug. At that moment, a police car swerved in front of the alleyway, and a squadron of troopers in full combat gear emerged, all donning gas masks. After they'd felt Robin's toxic gas once, none of them desired a second try.

The general's voice echoed through her bullhorn. "Teen Titans, you are under arrest for the possession and distribution of the illegal drug known as The Demon."

Silence.

Twin beams of neon green light sliced through the car, igniting the engine. The resulting explosion shook the alleyway and filled the air with billowing gray smoke. Behind her visor, the general's eyes narrowed.

Her vivid pink eyes scanned through the smokescreen. Lazy, peaceful tendrils of smoke curled across her field of vision.

 _There!_

A disturbance in the perpetual, gentle rolling of the smoke caught her attention. H.I.V.E. General Jinx fired her signature magenta hexes, grinning at Raven's gasp of pain. The boss could have sent in any other officer, but the only way to deal with the Teen Titans' infamous sorceress was with another sorceress.

Jinx's smirk faded, sudden nervousness twisting her insides into a knot. Gingerly, she trailed her fingers down the angry red scar marring her otherwise flawless cheek.

 _I can't afford to fail…_

Jinx swore she could see his orange-and-black mask even now, skulking through the shadows, telling her, as always, in his sugary sweet voice, the same two words.

 _Don't fail._

Tossing her bubblegum pink pigtails in the air, Jinx dropped into a battle position, her balled fists covered in a thin shroud of pink energy.

Raven cried out as Jinx's magic struck her, her raven form dissipating instantly. The three other Teen Titans leapt to the ground, weapons at the ready. The Demon should be kicking in any second now.

Suddenly, Raven felt it. The rush of maniacal power and adrenaline heralding the arrival of the Demon. It was a feeling she'd grown to love. No, not love. It was more of a sense of dependency than love. But this time, she felt something else. Fear.

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

 **Flashback: Jump City: April 16th, 2016- 13:02**

"The test results are in. It doesn't look good."

Raven's gut twisted at Dr. Bruce Wayne's grim announcement. "W-what do you mean?"

"How long has your addiction lasted?"

Raven winced at that word. _Addiction_. It's not like she'd wanted to be a drugged up teenage rebel, but it was better than suffering under H.I.V.E. for all eternity. "Six years? Seven?"

It didn't seem like that long. She told herself it was just one time. She would only need it once. But then the next time came. Just that once. And then everything seemed to pile up. How many times had she told herself "just once?"

Wayne sighed, "I thought as much. The scans are showing the early stages of dissociative identity disorder."

It wasn't like Raven didn't know the consequences of the Demon. As early as ten years ago, scientists had discovered the correlation between the drug and an accelerated form of DID. But seven years was too fast, and Raven relied too much on the power boost.

 _I just need a little more time._

If Raven could overthrow the H.I.V.E. before her full-blown DID set in, all her efforts would be worth it. If.

She'd told Robin first. He deserved to know, being her second-in-command and all. Robin didn't seem surprised, chastising her for not heeding his warnings earlier. Starfire, Beast Boy, and Robin weren't your average humans. Beast Boy was a scientifically engineered shapeshifter, Robin had honed his strength and instincts to almost inhuman levels, and Starfire was a literal alien. Sure, DID would catch up to them at some point, but they had a while to go, according to the statistics.

Raven was a different story. The half-demoness was already mentally unstable. Her demon side surfaced even without the help of the Demon. Abusing the drug was just pouring gasoline on the fire.

Seventeen years of her life. Seven whole years of the Demon. Raven estimated she had about a year left of sanity. One year left to overthrow Slade Wilson's ruthless dictatorship. And all she had was the Titans. Sure they were powerful, but like herself, the Titans were just teenagers.

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

 **PRESENT DAY**

Raven shuddered. She rolled one shoulder up slowly, hearing it crack with a satisfactory smirk. The demoness crawled slowly into a sitting position. Jinx shifted uneasily, two pink lasers pointed at Raven.

Cracks spread across the cobblestones as Raven burst into the air, her cloak billowing open. Jinx was too late. The dark rubies of Raven's leotard glinted menacingly in the faint streetlight.

"Azarath…" Raven intoned, her voice echoing with a dark undertone.

Jinx's eyes widened.

"Metrion…"

Jinx shouted for the troopers to fall back.

"ZINTHOS!"

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

 **So, what do you think? I'm writing this in the middle of competition season, so I'm not too sure about this fanfic, but I didn't write anything for a while, and this idea just kinda hit me. Hope you like it so far!**

 **I actually ship RobRae and BBRae, so I'm just marking this as BBRae and RobStar for a while. I'm probably throwing in either CyBee or Cyborg x Jinx. Anyways, I haven't planned out pairings yet, so leave your vote in the reviews!**


	2. define:hero

**A big thank you to DimitraMitsos for taking the time to review, and I guess BBRae it is.**

 **Also a quick PSA: I edited Chapter 1 so Cyborg isn't a Teen Titan (yet) because I want him to join the team later.**

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

The troopers backed towards the entrance, shields up.

Raven's eyes glowed as her incantation resonated through Nocturne Alley. Crackling black orbs surrounded her outstretched palms as Raven's magic surged through her body.

 _So far, so good_ , Jinx thought. No tentacles, no magic constructs, no nothing. Maybe, just maybe, the troopers could book it and get out of Nocturne Alley before Raven's demonic hoodoo magic caught up to them.

Raven's dark energy coagulated into flickering, snake-like constructs. They wavered uncertainly for a millisecond, then, too fast for human eyes to follow, the tentacles shot forward.

 _Still nothing_. Jinx blinked. She opened her eyes to see the demonic sorceress's signature tentacles snaking around her, binding her arms to her body. _Shit._ Gritting her teeth, Jinx turned her head a fraction of an inch. Sure enough, her troopers were suffering through the same predicament as her. She shut her eyes, allowing Raven's dark tentacles to spiral around her neck. _Think. Think. What would Slade do?_

It was nothing Slade-worthy, but Jinx was fresh out of ideas. Desperately, she pushed a single finger through her bindings, pointing it not at Raven, but at Beast Boy. He'd been grazed by a trooper's stray bullet early in the battle, and Jinx intended to press her advantage. A single beam of pink energy arced through the air, heading straight for Beast Boy's heart.

Sure enough, his blood loss had greatly slowed his reaction time. Beast Boy sensed the attack at the last second, his eyes widening.

 _Not enough time_ , Jinx gloated. She knew what would happen next.

Raven saw the pink energy as soon as it left Jinx's fingertip. Panic overwhelmed her mind, her tentacles melting into the surrounding shadows as Raven released her spell. She teleported in front of Beast Boy, allowing Jinx's magic to pierce through her forehead.

She only had time for a single thought before everything went black. _This burns like Trigon's butthole after Taco Bell._

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Beast Boy was shocked when he saw Jinx's magic making a beeline directly for him. But what he never expected was what happened next.

His mind fuzzy from his wounds, the shapeshifter only realized what Raven had done after the spell hit her. He saw it all. The bright pink light illuminated her pale features in a way that was both absolutely stunning and absolutely terrifying, since he knew what would happen next. Raven's eyes dimmed as her body went limp. Unable to maintain her levitation, the sorceress dropped like a stone, her cloak flapping wildly as she headed straight for the cobblestones.

Still on the verge of fainting, Beast Boy felt like an outsider watching his body move instinctively toward Raven's. He heard himself scream her name and witnessed himself reaching out, for what exactly he didn't know. And then Raven's body collided with his, and the screen went dark.

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Robin glared at Jinx's retreating back. He spun his bo-staff, bending his knees. Starfire instantly knew what the ex-Boy Wonder was thinking.

"Don't."

The burning, crimson rage melted away at Starfire's touch. As much as he wanted to attack Jinx, to tell himself he had an advantage over the fleeing H.I.V.E. general, Robin had to admit he was still no match for her.

Before now, he'd been the Boy Wonder. A flashy name. Robin had prided himself in that, basked in Batman's glory. But the more he fought, the weaker he felt. Weak in the shadow of the Bat. Weak against every enemy he battled. So he'd left, told himself he'd make a name for himself. And then Slade took over, and Robin knew it was his time. He'd help the Teen Titans and save the world. Not as Batman's sidekick, but as a real hero.

Gently, Starfire draped Raven and Beast Boy over her shoulder. "Robin, it's time to go home."

 _Weak. Train more. Useless. More. Peak human. Weak._

"Robin?"

Robin pounded his fist into the wall, cracking the bricks. _I don't deserve to be second-in-command. I can't even win against Jinx, and I just stood there and watched my comrades...my friends...I watched them get hurt. And I did nothing. I don't deserve to call myself a Teen Titan. And I definitely-_

Starfire tapped Robin's shoulder lightly. "Friend Robin?"

"-don't deserve to call myself a hero," Robin mumbled.

Starfire's emerald eyes hardened. With all the extraterrestrial strength Star could muster, she slapped Robin.

He flew straight into the bricks, landing with a sickening crack. The domino mask was slightly crooked.

Slowly, Robin peeled himself off the wall. "What was that for?"

He opened his eyes to see Starfire's outstretched hand. Grudgingly, Robin took it, allowing Starfire to pull him to his feet.

The fire in her eyes had gone, replaced by sadness. "Robin, please do not ever say that again. We call ourselves the Teen Titans not because we always win, but because we always get up after we lose. That is a hero. And you are a hero."

Robin rubbed his back, feeling the bruise that was already blossoming over it. He stood there, unreadable, for about a minute.

And then he smiled. "Honestly, how do you do it?"

Starfire blinked. "Do what?"

Robin eased Beast Boy onto his shoulder. "Make everything seem alright no matter how bad everything always is."

The masked hero couldn't tell if Starfire was blushing or if it was just the lighting in the alley.

"Let's go home."

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

The camera feed fizzled into blackness. A metal-gloved finger released the power button.

"Jinx. An excuse of a general. But I'm sure…"

Slade Wilson looked down at his subordinate.

"...that you will not disappoint me."

An electric red eye shone through the shadows.

"Prove your loyalty to me, Cyborg."

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**


End file.
